[Foundation-l] Board resolutions on controversial content and images of identifiable people

[Tobias Oelgarte]

Am 21.09.2011 17:21, schrieb Jussi-Ville Heiskanen:
> On Wed, Sep 21, 2011 at 5:53 PM, phoebe ayers<phoebe.wiki at gmail.com>  wrote:
>> On Wed, Sep 21, 2011 at 6:31 AM, Jussi-Ville Heiskanen
>> <cimonavaro at gmail.com>  wrote:
>>> On Thu, Aug 25, 2011 at 10:10 PM, phoebe ayers<phoebe.wiki at gmail.com>  wrote:>
>>>> This seems like an over-hasty statement. There are many possible
>>>> categorization schemes that are neutral; the ALA in fact makes that
>>>> distinction itself, since libraries (obviously) use all kinds of labeling
>>>> and categorization schemes all the time. The ALA and other library
>>>> organizations have taken a stand against censorious and non-neutral
>>>> labeling, not all labeling. If you keep reading the ALA page you linked, it
>>>> says that the kind of labels that are not appropriate are when "the
>>>> prejudicial label is used to warn, discourage or prohibit users or certain
>>>> groups of users from accessing the material" -- e.g. a label that reads "not
>>>> appropriate for children". That does not mean that picture books for kids,
>>>> or mystery novels, or large-print books, aren't labeled as such in every
>>>> public library in the country -- and that is the difference between
>>>> informative and prejudicial labeling.
>>> Would I be incorrect in pointing out that American public librarys routinely
>>> exclude world famous childrens book author Astrid Lindgrens childrens
>>> books, because to puritanical minds a man who can elevate himself
>>> with a propeller beany, and look into childs rooms thereby, smacks too
>>> much of pedophilia?
>>>
>> Uh... yes, you would be incorrect? I certainly checked out Astrid
>> Lindgren books from the public library when I was a kid. I have never
>> heard of them getting challenged in the US. Citation needed?
>>
>> The ALA maintains a list of books that do get routinely challenged in
>> US libraries here:
>> http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/index.cfm.
>> Note, this just means someone *asked* for the book to be removed from
>> the public or school library, not that it actually was; libraries
>> generally stand up to such requests.
>>
>> Also note that challenges are typically asking for the book to be
>> removed from the library altogether -- restricting access to it for
>> everyone in the community -- as opposed to simply not looking at it
>> yourself or allowing your own kids to check it out. It's the 'removal
>> for everyone' part that is the problem; the issue here is freedom of
>> choice: people should have the right to read, or not read, a
>> particular book as they see fit.
>>
> The wikipedia article does mention the controversy, but omits the
> fact that several libraries did in fact pull the books from their inventory...
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karlsson-on-the-Roof
>
Most of the very popular books where removed due to other problems. Some 
would have a format/case that would not suite (Madonna for example). 
Some others would be bought and immediately "sold out". It's simply not 
the job of a library to represent bestsellers as soon they come out for 
give away. That is often misinterpreted as banned books. It just leads 
to the fact, that some books are bought later on, when the hype settled 
down.